Dynamo driven from axles of railway-cars



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. BIDDLE. DYNAMO DRIVEN FROM AXLES OF RAILWAY OARS..

Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

h n m n fi W ITNESSES: 44

(No Model.) I v 2 SheetsSheet 2.

. "W; BIDDLE. D'YNAMO DRIVEN FROM AXLES OP RAILWAY CARS.

Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

WITNESSES: %M

UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BIDDLE, OF BROOKLYN, NEl/V YORK. I

DYNAMO DRIVEN FROM AXLES OF RAILWAY-CARS SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 536,748, dated April 2, 1895.

Application filed May 31, 1894. Serial No. 512,954. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BIDDLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented an Improvement inFrictionalDriving Devices for Dynamos, of which the following is a specification.

In lighting railway cars by electricity it is often important to be able to stop the action of the dynamo after the storage battery has been fully charged, therebyrelieving the wear of the dynamo and lessening the resistance to the movement of the car. With this object in view I make use of grooved driving pulleys upon the car axle and grooved pinions upon the armature shaft at opposite ends thereof, and I mount the dynamo upon a frame in such a manner that spring pressure is' made use of to keep the grooved pinions into contact with the grooved driving pulleys, and when the dynamo is to be stopped it is drawn back sufficiently to separate the grooved frictional surfaces and thereby allow the grooved driving pulleys to revolve without contact or friction and the wear upon the dynamo and the resistance to its movement are avoided. I prefer to employ a screw with a nut actuated from the car platform as the means for drawing back the dynamo and separating the frictional surfaces.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a general plan view. Fig. 2 is an elevation with the axle in section at the line a: on, part of the case being broken open. Fig. 3 is asection longitudinally of the axle at the line 2 z. Fig. 4 is an elevation partially in section at the line y y, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section of one of the springs and its holder.

One of the car axles is represented atA and the wheels at B, and the axle box H rests upon the axle near the middle thereof and it is extended downwardly and horizontally as a frame H for carrying the dynamo, and the oil-box K having an oil space 5 is represented as introduced from below and held up to the axle box by the bolts 3. The dynamo frame H rests at one end upon the bearer O and it is free to slide upon that bearer in any direction as the parts of the truck may move.

.The present improvement is available with any desired character of dynamo. I have shown a case Q as adapted to contain the dynamo, and the armature shaft 10 projects at opposite ends of this case and it is provided with the grooved driving pinions E which engage the similarly grooved surfaces of the driving pulleys D which are secured around the axle A. These pulleys D are advantageously made in segments and bolted together and thereby clamped firmly to the axle A so as to rotate with the same, and in the surfaces of the pulleys D and pinions E are advantageously V-shaped grooves as represented, so that the one may fit closely and with the required friction against the other.

In order to protect the friction gears from dust, thetwo-part boxes L are employed, the same being divided horizontally and connected by bolts at 8, such cases containing and including the pinions E and driving pulleys D, and in order to aid in excluding dust from the journal and axle box I-I, caps H H are provided that are half cylinders projecting at opposite ends from the axle box H and coinciding with similar dust caps K K that project from the oil-box K, and the outer ends of these dust-caps are received within the flanges 7 upon the boxes L.

I prefer to use the spring cover6 to the oil space 5 by the moving of which access is given for introducing oil and suitable packing material to lubricate the journal upon which the box H rests as the box and frame support the dynamo.

The dynamo case is connected to the frame H by bolts 14 passing through slots in such frame and the parts are suitably lubricated so that the dynamo and frame can be pressed toward the axle or withdrawn, and I make use of springs t for pressing the dynamo toward the axle, in order that the pinions E may engage the driving pulleys D with the necessary frictional contact for driving the armature of the dynamo by the grooved pulleys D upon the axle A. These springs t are advantageously fitted Within. the spring holders 11 and act against the tubular pressers 9 which press upon the sides of the case Q and tend to force the dynamo toward the axle A with the power necessary to insure the proper frictional contact between the pulleys D and the pinions E. Hence when the springs t' are allowed to act, the dynamo will receive the proper rotation from the revolving axle of the car.

When the dynamo is not required for use, it and the case are drawn back against the action of the springs 7:, and any suitable means may be made use of for this purpose. I however prefer to employ a screw retractor F in the form of astud permanently fastened to the dynamo and extending through alug 15 upon the dynamo frame H and there is anut G upon the screw retractor which can be rotated by any suitable means so as to act upon the screw F and draw the dynamo case, dynamo and shaft and pinions E backwardly, so that the latter may be sufficiently out of contact with the driving pulleys D for the dynamo to remain stationary while said pulleys D revolve constantly within the two-part boxes L with but little if any friction, so that the dynamo will be out of action and thus drawn away from the shaft A, but when the nut G is rotated in the other direction the springs 11 are free to act to obtain the necessary friction between the surfaces of the grooved pulleys D and pinions E for rotating the armature shaft and developing the desired electric current.

In rotating the nut G any suitable device maybe employed. I have however shown projections upon the cylindrical periphery'of the nut receiving an endless chain 16 passing up to the wheel N upon a shaft M to be rotated in turning the nut G for retracting the dynamo and throwing it out of action or for allowing the dynamo to be pressed up and brought into action by the springs t'. The shaft M is represented as havingapinion 17 at one end acted upon by a hand lever and rack P, so that by swinging the hand lever and rack, the pinion 17, shaft M and chain wheel N will be rotated, and by the chain 16 the nut G will be rotated in either one direction or the other and act either to draw back the dynamo and separate the frictional driving surfaces, or to allow the springs i to press the dynamo toward the axle and bring the frictional driving surfaces of the grooved pinions E into contact with the grooved surfaces of the driving pulleys D, so that the armature of the dynamo may be rotated with the desired speed when the car is in motion and set up the proper current for energizing the secondary battery employed in connection with the car lighting. A secondary battery and connections of the general character made use of by me may be seen in the patent to Biddle and Kennedy, No. 519,998, granted April 10, 1894.

It is advantageous to make use of bolts 12 for connecting the gear box L in position, such bolts 12 passing into bosses 13 projecting from the armature case or from the frame H \Vhen the bolts connect with the armature case there should be elongated holes in the gear-box for such bolts to pass through, so as to allow for the movement of the armature and case.

By the present improvement it will be observed that the friction devices for driving the armature shaft act equally at both ends of the armature shaft, and hence there is no tendency to shift the armature and its case or to disturb its correct position when being driven or when the armature and its pinions are drawn back and out of contact with the grooved frictional driving pulleys upon the axle of the car wheels.

The axle maybe forged with the journal for the box and turned up as shown, but the axle may be prepared for the box in any desired manner.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with the car axle and a dynamo, of a dynamo frame extending up over the axle and having a bearer or journal box, an oil-box below the axle and bolts for connecting the parts, a bearer upon which the distant end of the dynamo frame rests and upon which it is free to move in any direction, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the car axle and a dynamo, of a dynamo frame extending up over the axle and having a bearer or journal box, an oil-box below the axle and bolts for connecting the parts, a bearer upon which the distant end of the dynamo frame rests and upon which it is free to move in any direction, grooved frictional driving pulleys upon the axle, grooved frictional pinions upon the armature shaft, a yielding pressure for forcing the frictional surfaces into contact, and a screw for withdrawing the dynamo and separating the friction surfaces, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the car axle and a dynamo, of a dynamo frame extending up over the axle and having a bearer or journal box, an oil-box below the axle and bolts for connecting the parts, a bearer upon which the distant end of the dynamo frame rests and upon which it is free to move in any direction, grooved frictional driving pulleys upon the axle, grooved frictional pinions upon the armature shaft, a yielding pressure for forcing the frictional surfaces into contact, a screw for withdrawing the dynamo and separating the friction surfaces, and two-part boxes for surrounding the frictional gears and excluding dust, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with the car axle and a dynamo, of a dynamo frame extending up over the axle and having a bearer or journal box, an oil-box below the axle and bolts for connecting the parts, a bearer upon which the distant end of the dynamo frame rests and upon which it is free to move in any direction, grooved frictional driving pulleys upon the axle, grooved frictional pinions upon the arexcluding dust from the bearing of the dy mature shaft, a yielding pressure for forcing namo frame upon the axle, substantially as IO the frictional surfaces into contact, a screw set forth.

for withdrawing the dynamo and separating Signed by me this 23d day of May, 1894.

the friction surfaces, two-part boxes for sur- WILLIAM BIDDLE. rounding the frictional gears and excluding lVitnesses: dust, and dust guards extending from the GEO. T. PINCKNEY,

dynamo frame and oil box t0 the boxes for A. M. OLIVER. 

